The Iglesia ni Cristo yesterday announced it was ending its rally after achieving its call for transparency and accountability in the government’s ongoing corruption probe into the flood control projects.
Police estimated a massive crowd of 600,000 at the Rizal Park in Manila as of 7:00 p.m last night.
“It did not need three days to achieve the goal of sending the message that we are calling for justice, accountability, transparency, and peace,” according to Ka Edwil Zabala, spokesperson of INC.
Prior to the announcement, Brother Rommel Topacio, INC’s minister for evangelism, stressed that the principle of government is centered on public accountability.
“In this principle, public servants are accountable to the people for their actions, decisions, and the performance of their duties. This ensures that they serve with integrity, efficiency, and responsibility, and are accountable for the use of public funds. This concept is central to good governance, promoting transparency, citizen participation, and public trust,” he said in Filipino.
He added that leaders involved in corruption who have lost honor, integrity, and justice in the discharge of their duties — along with their complicit companies and personnel — should be held accountable.
Topacio recalled individuals linked to the 2025 budget insertions and anomalous flood control projects. In an interview on Monday, Ombudsman Boying Remulla said charges will be filed against several senators, solons, and DPWH officials by mid-December.
Topacio said none of the identified high-profile personalities implicated in corruption have been found guilty despite ongoing investigations by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, the Ombudsman, and the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI).
The vast crowd echoed Topacio by chanting “panagutin” (be held accountable), “ikulong” (imprison), and “hustisya” (justice).
Among those who spoke at the rally were Senator Imee Marcos, Senator Rodante Marcoleta, Narvacan Mayor Chavit Singson, former Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Greco Belgica, Jesus Is Lord (JIL) pastor Stanley Flores, and lawyers Rowena Guanzon and Neil Abayon.
In her speech, Senator Marcos reprised allegations that her brother is a drug user.
She said their family and the president’s former colleagues have long been aware of his vice since his younger years.
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro on Monday accused Senator Imee Marcos of engaging in a “desperate move” to malign President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. by raising fresh allegations about the chief executive’s supposed drug use.
In a video posted on her YouTube channel, Castro questioned why the senator would “attack her own brother” and revive accusations she said were already disproven.
Castro cited a drug test President Marcos voluntarily took in 2021, before he won the presidency, which she said showed he tested negative for cocaine. She referenced documents made public on May 13, 2024, saying the results were “clear and certified.”
“We know that the President underwent a drug test before the campaign started. And it was negative,” Castro said.
“So what is the reason for Senator Imee Marcos’s desperate actions against her own sister and even the First Lady? If not, she can only ruin,” she added.
Police reported that approximately 110,000 people stayed in Luneta overnight after the first day, while the Manila-Department of Public Services (DPS) collected seven truckloads of garbage amounting to 19 metric tons on Monday morning.
Aside from the MPD, personnel from the Manila City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MCDRRMO), Philippine Red Cross (PRC), and Manila Health Department (MHD) remain deployed to assist INC members.
The MCDRRMO tallied a total of 404 patients: 81 handled by its personnel, 213 by the PRC, and 110 by volunteers.
Meanwhile, face-to-face classes in all public and private schools in thecapital city remain suspended on Tuesday for the third and final day of the activities.
